Anand Panyarachun

The interim constitution that was promulgated on 1 March 1991 reconfirmed the intention of the NKPC to retain substantial control.[14] However, Anand was allowed relative freedom to select his own cabinet members. For the entire period of his premiership Anand faced constant pressure from the junta leaders, who tried to influence government decisions in order to gain financial benefits.[15]

Anand filled his cabinet with well-known academics, technocrats, and ex-bureaucrats with proven records. Various commentators, ranging from the president of the Thailand Development Research Institute to the mass-circulation newspaper Thai Rath, described the cabinet as the most impressive Thailand had ever had.[16][17] The strong guiding hand of privy councillor Prem Tinsulanonda could be seen.[12] Amongst those selected by Anand were Prem's previous finance minister and economic advisor. A senior diplomat during the years Prem served as prime minister became foreign minister. The technocratic orientation of the cabinet substantially diminished the fears of foreign investors.[18]

Anand's administration proved harder-working than his predecessors.[12] The administration worked on its task of implementing a long list of much-needed reforms. Its emphasis on education, public health, exports, agriculture, industry, environment, and improvement in living conditions, met with widespread approval. In a Bangkok poll in late-July 1991, 61 percent of respondents felt that the Anand government was more honest than previous administrations.[19]

Arguably the most significant of the reforms was a restructuring of the taxation system, which saw the introduction of a value added tax (VAT) and a reduction in corporate and income taxation. Several measures were taken to free up the flow of funds into and out of the country. Thai nationals were allowed to invest abroad without the approval of the Bank of Thailand. Regulations were altered for foreign banks to open branches and the ceiling on bank interest rates was lifted.[20] In addition, the process for obtaining official operating licences for factories was greatly simplified, while the method of allocating textile and tapioca quotas was made more apparent. In the energy sector, price control barriers were dismantled.

The government was also able to successfully conclude agreements for a number of large-scale infrastructure projects initiated by the Chatichai administration. A regulatory board to oversee the privatisation and private investment in infrastructure projects was established. The projects themselves were also to be independently approved and monitored by agencies outside the government in order to minimise the opportunities for corruption.

In an attempt to spread the benefits of the country's economic growth, civil servants were given a 23 percent raise in wages, state employers a 20 percent wage rise, and the minimum wage was raised by 15 percent.[12] In addition to this, the Anand government allocated six billion baht in the fiscal year 1992 budget to be distributed to villages and spent at their discretion.

Key accomplishments of Anand's government include:

• The establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)[21]
• A highly effective anti-AIDS/HIV policy.[22]
• Electricity market reform, including the introduction of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the initiation of a 10-year liberalisation and privatisation plan for EGAT. Many have noted that Saha-Union Group, which Anand chaired, won a major bid to build a large coal-fired power plant while Anand was in power.[23]
• Award of a multi-billion baht concession to Telecom Asia (today known as True) to build and operate two million telephone lines in Bangkok.[24] It was noted by many that General Suchinda, the coup leader who installed Anand as Prime Minister, was appointed chairman of Telecom Asia after he was toppled from power.[25]
• Suspension of the Hopewell rail-train airport link project.[26]

On the international front Anand performed well. Despite international concern over the coup, foreign administrations had sufficient confidence to resume relations quickly. Anand made visits to China in September 1991 and Japan in December 1991, and went on to meetings with President George H. W. Bush in the United States. He was able to shake off the stigma of being a junta-installed prime minister, instead successfully presenting the image of an administration determined to deregulate, cut red tape, and create an environment conductive to free enterprise.[12]

The Anand government's policies to its neighbours followed the lead of his predecessor Chatichai. Relationships with Laos improved significantly, with Thailand allocating one-half of its 200 million baht aid budget to the nation.[27] Thailand under Anand became deeply involved in the Cambodian peace process, while relations with Vietnam went through a period of fence-mending and confidence-building.

The only foreign relations area where there were serious reasons for criticising Anand's administration was Thailand's soft stance towards the repressive military junta of Burma.[12]

Anand disagreed with the military junta's plans to increase the defence budget. Anand denied the military's request for supplemental funding that would have totaled 53 billion baht.[12] Junta member Air Chief Marshal Kaset Rojananil criticised the government for being too "inefficient" and calling for it to resign.[28] Suchinda justified the military's request by stating that there were still communist fighters in the Indochina region.[12] In November and December Anand publicly repeated his views that the country's security did not lie in military might, but in its economic and political development, on one occasion stating, "Military might is no longer a guarantee of national security. No nation can feel secure as long as its citizens are deprived of freedom of political expression and of the opportunities for a better and more meaningful life."[29]

Anand also voiced disagreement with the junta's draft constitution, although the constitution was ultimately promulgated. At first, he refused to comment as the Constitution Scrutinising Committee, hand-picked by Sunthorn, made changes to what became the final draft constitution.[12] Then on 16 November, Anand spoke out against clauses that gave the appointed 360 member Senate the same powers as elected members of the House of Representatives as well as a clause allowing permanent public officials and military officers to hold political posts. Anand suggested that the Senate be reduced in size. The military-dominated Constitution Drafting Assembly refused to accept his suggestions and voted unanimously to pass the draft.[15] Anand's response was simple: "I'm disappointed".[30]

Anand's refusal to interfere with the junta's actions meant that his administration failed to come to grips with human rights issues. He had a comprehensive environmental bill passed, but it was ignored by the military, which continued its corrupt activities. Not long after it had taken power, the NPKC announced a huge rural development project that would help solve the problems of rural landlessness and encroachment on protected forests, issues that had for decades occupied the king's attention.[15] The military had promised to resettle more than 1.2 million people to permanent farmlands, but instead evicted villagers from forest reserves, where they had lived in some cases for generations, and transferred the lands to corporate plantations.[12][15][31] In almost all cases, the army failed to provide new homes and food supplies. When an activist monk led villagers to protest, he and his followers were attacked and arrested.[12][15]

In mid-June 1991, the outspoken president of the Labour Congress of Thailand, Thanong Phoarn, mysteriously disappeared. The deputy defence minister, a military man, casually brushed the matter aside, claiming that Thanong had probably fled his wife.[32] He has not been seen since.

With respect to the freedom of information, the Anand administration also disappointed many. With the NPKC in full control of the media, any criticism of the military was censored. News of rallies and demonstrations on a wide range of issues of public concern were kept from the public. The transparency of the denials of censorship by the military-dominated Interior Ministry must have been apparent to Anand, but he chose to do nothing about them.[12]

Anand was succeeded by General Suchinda, who was appointed by parliament after general elections.

In 1996, Anand was elected as a member of the Constitution Drafting Assembly and was appointed Chairman of the Drafting Committee. He oversaw the drafting of what became known as the "Peoples' Constitution" of 1997. The constitution was abrogated in 2006 after a military coup against Thaksin Shinawatra that Anand supported. The People's Constitution instituted several important reforms,[33][34][35] including:

• Decentralisation of government, including the establishment of elected Tambon Administrative Organisations (TAOs) and Provincial Administrative Organisations (PAOs). School administrations were also decentralised, although opposition from teachers delayed implementation of this reform
• Establishment of several independent government agencies, including the Election Commission, the Office of the Auditor-General, and the National Human Rights Commission
• Stipulated that candidates for parliament must hold at least a bachelor's degree
• Mechanisms to increase political stability by favouring large parties over small ones, and hence singular governments over coalition governments

From March 2005, Anand served as chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), tasked with overseeing that peace was restored to the troubled south. A fierce critic of the Thaksin government, Anand frequently criticised his handling of the southern unrest, and in particular the State of Emergency Decree. He has been quoted to have said, "The authorities have worked inefficiently. They have arrested innocent people instead of the real culprits, leading to mistrust among locals. So, giving them broader power may lead to increased violence and eventually a real crisis." Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated from 2005 to 2006, with escalating violence, especially among teachers and civilians. Despite much criticism of the Thaksin-government's policies, Anand refused to submit the NRC's final report, choosing instead to wait for the results of the 2006 legislative election.[36]

Anand finally submitted the NRC's recommendations on 5 June 2006.[37] Among them were

• Introducing Islamic law
• Making ethnic Pattani-Malay (Yawi) an official language of the region
• Establishing an unarmed peacekeeping force
• Establishing a Peaceful Strategic Administrative Centre for southern border provinces

The recommendations were rejected by Privy Council President Prem, who stated, "We cannot accept that [proposal] as we are Thai. The country is Thai and the language is Thai... We have to be proud to be Thai and have the Thai language as the sole national language".[38]

Anand is a member of the Trilateral Commission and the International Advisory Board of American International Group (AIG). Anand is a member of the Carlyle Group and sits on the Carlyle Group's advisory board for Asia-Pacific.[39]

He served as UNICEF Ambassador for Thailand since 1996. During November 2003 and December 2004, Anand was requested by then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to chair the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations. The panel of former presidents, prime ministers, and scholars was tasked to prepare recommendations for possible UN reform.

• 1961 - Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Third Class)
• 1970 - Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Grand Gwanghwa Medal (First Class), Republic of Korea
• 1971 - Bintang Jasa Utama di Indonesia
• 1990 - Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Second Class), Belgium
• 1991 - Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan
• 1996 - Honorary Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), United Kingdom
• 2007 - Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Sweden[42]